Best way to stay stationary relative to target

[george7378]

Hi everyone,

What's the best add-on I can use to allow me to keep a certain distance from another spacecraft (station keeping)? I found AttitudeMFD, but that's only for orbiter 2006.

Thanks.

 

[Interceptor]

Hi george7378,AttitudeMFD works just fine with orbiter2010P1,I use it all the time.

 

[george7378]

Hi, thanks a lot Interceptor! I'll give it a go.

 

[ADSWNJ]

The other thing to remember, George, is to get your orbit as similar to the target as possible. E.g. same periapsis and apoapsis, same argument of periapsis. If the oval-shaped orbit you are flying is misaligned to your target's oval, you will have to deal with unnecessary drift when you are in close.

 

[C3PO]

The other thing to remember, George, is to get your orbit as similar to the target as possible. E.g. same periapsis and apoapsis, same argument of periapsis. If the oval-shaped orbit you are flying is misaligned to your target's oval, you will have to deal with unnecessary drift when you are in close.

You will always have some drifting because you're not in the exact same orbit, unless you're inside your target.

Like always there's one exception, and that's if you get on the V-bar of your target. In a circular orbit you could in theory be stationary relative to the target. in an elliptic orbit only the distance will vary slightly, but it's a "stable position.

If you're close to your target you should go to a spot where your target is on your prograde or retrograde marker. [ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=1199"]RendezvousMFD[/ame] should help getting there.

 

[NukeET]

Hi george7378,AttitudeMFD works just fine with orbiter2010P1,I use it all the time.

Ditto.

The other thing to remember, George, is to get your orbit as similar to the target as possible. E.g. same periapsis and apoapsis, same argument of periapsis. If the oval-shaped orbit you are flying is misaligned to your target's oval, you will have to deal with unnecessary drift when you are in close.

When close to your target, and you cancel MOST if not ALL relative motion (using AttitudeMFD), then your drift is almost negligible. In other words, you are almost in the same orbit.

You will always have some drifting because you're not in the exact same orbit, unless you're inside your target. .

Or docked to the target...that prevents drifting too.:lol:

 

[ADSWNJ]

What I'd like would be a way to navigate to a specific point say 200 meters out on the R-bar or the V-bar, then orient to the right attitude and bring it in. What's the easiest way to do this?

 

[Cras]

What I'd like would be a way to navigate to a specific point say 200 meters out on the R-bar or the V-bar, then orient to the right attitude and bring it in. What's the easiest way to do this?

Rendezvous MFD, RPOP MFD, Attitude MFD

 

[C3PO]

What I'd like would be a way to navigate to a specific point say 200 meters out on the R-bar or the V-bar, then orient to the right attitude and bring it in. What's the easiest way to do this?

I use RendezvousMFD.

But if you have completed the rendezvous, you can do it using only the Orbit HUD. Point your craft towards the target. Check if you're below/above and behind/in front of it. If you're behind it, turn on prograde, an vise versa. Use translation to put the target on the marker that you are pointing towards. Now you have arrived on the V-bar.

The R-bar is not a stable position, and you will need linear RCS bursts to stay in the same relative spot.